A/N: As I said in my oneshot "The Piano Teacher," I'm sorry about me leaving for a while, but here I am trying my best at writing and continuing my stories. I think this chapter isn't the greatest, but at least it's something, right? I hope you readers enjoy it.
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"Bud that you?" My father calls to me as I quietly (but unsuccessfully) closed the front door, "What're you doing home so early?"
I stare into the emptiness of our living room, waiting for him to enter it, and play the game of "20 questions" with me. I wipe any evidence of tears from my face, and just hope that my eyes aren't red. His face finally makes an appearance, and he stares at me in awe, "It looks like you got ran over by a bus… and then it backed up and ran over you again," he chuckles lightly, almost as if he knew this isn't a time for joking around.
"Dad, I'm sorry for leaving you out of the loop lately…" might as well start somewhere, right?
--
I spilled everything, all the way from paying Lilly 1,000 to my dethroning tonight. I lie in my bed now, trying to sort through everything. At least I have Sunday to myself before I have to go to school. It'll be so embarrassing…
I feel so guilty for what I did to Lilly, but that doesn't mean she had to treat me like that! Or maybe I deserved it… my head was getting a bit big. I was just so fixated on becoming popular, and once I was actually "in," I just wanted to make sure I'd never be "out." But look at me now; I'm a freaking outcast to the outcasts.
They'll be calling me Stinky Stewart again. Heck, I bet Oliver will be calling me Stinky as well…
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Monday Morning
"Dad… I'm leaving now," my hand claps the cool metal knob, and I silently wish for my dad to beckon me back, and tell me not to face hell.
I hear his cowboy heels click and he places one hand on my shoulder. A jolt of hope ran through my body, he was going to tell me just to stay home! "Good luck, Miles," he gives my shoulder a gentle squeeze and hands me the keys to his rusted pickup truck.
I was so used to being picked up in Lilly's corvette, it feels weird going back to this rusty ole' thing. I mean, even after we broke up she still came to get me everyday.
I drive to school, not listening to music, but instead the rattle of the engine moving inside this truck. I'm too nervous to listen to music… my whole insides are bubbling upwards, always threatening to burst out, but never doing so.
I step out of the reddened vehicle, and approach the building that should be renamed "HELL." I glance to my right, then to my left, and notice no one is looking at me… well the reason could be that the parking lot is empty. I notice a certain red corvette though, parked near the back… Lilly's already here.
I sallow any remaining saliva in my mouth, and walk towards Seaview High School. As I approach the school, people would look at me for split seconds before returning to their cliques and friends, whispering ferociously. I pass one of the groups, and I can just overhear what they're saying, "She cheated her way to the top…"
"I knew Lilly wouldn't really date someone like her…"
I ignore the rest, just the rude snide comments hurt too much. I walk through doorway into the school, and see Oliver taking some books out of his locker, and I walk up to him, "Err, hey Oliver!" I try to say in my best cheery voice.
Sarah notices this, and walks over to Oliver as well, "Look who comes crawling back once she's been kicked off the top."
"I don't even know who you're talking about… it's always just been you, Danny, and me" Oliver comments and walks off with Sarah… away from me.
I groan, and slam my fist into the locker. Not such a great idea, because now I'm being ignored and my hand is throbbing. I spot Mikayla talking to Jesse, and I decide maybe she'd like to talk to me… she was the second nicest person of the group… and Jesse was decent as well. "Hi Mikayla!" I wave to her awkwardly, "Hey Jesse."
"Listen, I'm not into girls, especially not ones like you," Mikayla pushes past me, purposefully banging her shoulder hard against mine.
I look to Jesse with a face full of hope, "I'd like to be your friend, but what you did was pretty horrible. You bought your way to the top… and no offense, but that's pretty low," he shakes his head, and follows the direction Mikayla took.
Looks like I'm on my own today…
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It's lunchtime now, and I tried sitting with the populars but they moved to an empty table, so I tried sitting with Oliver et all, and they moved to the other empty table. Even the nerdier people than my old group rejected me. So I sit here underneath an oak tree by myself, picking at the grass, not really having an appetite for lunch.
I'm such a loser; I fucked everything up. I swear at one point in time Lilly actually wanted me, and I ended it with her, then I screwed everything up by trying to seduce… oh I don't even remember if it was Ashley, Amber, or Mikayla. To me they were all the same entity anyways; they all acted the same.
I glance over at the popular table, wishing I were there right now… then I notice that Oliver's sitting there. WHAT? That is so unfair! He didn't even pay money to sit there! Looks like he's helping Ashley with her homework. Hmm… Chad's walking over to him.
Wait a minute, Chad looks angry, and now he's holding Oliver by the collar, with his fist in the air ready to punch Oliver at any given moment. I've gotta save him.
I rush over from my secluded area and scream, "STOP!"
All eyes turn to me, and it looks like I just barely saved Oliver from getting a beating. "Don't you see what you're doing? You were about to hit him, just because he's from a different 'clique' why can't we all just along? I mean we're all people, I don't see why there has to be this division between the populars and the geeks. I mean I used to be a geek, but you guys seemed to take me in pretty fast… and kick me out real fast too… but what I'm trying to say is there doesn't have to be this… tension between us. We could all just get along fine! I mean, Chad, before we entered High School, you were our friend, and you'd hang out with us. Let's go back to that, and stop worrying about who's popular, and who's not!" I take a deep breath, and just hope my speech has at least moved a few people.
Lilly glances at me, and smiles, "Miley's right. We really should stop worrying about all the different cliques."
Chad releases Oliver, "I guess so… but it doesn't mean we should just accept Miley back because she just made a heart warming speech, she should still be punished for what she did."
"She did nothing wrong," Lilly interjects, "it was because how we wouldn't let anyone enter our clique she had to resort to buying me as a girlfriend, but sometimes even if the person is a geek, they have a great heart," Lilly's looking directly at me. Does that mean she thinks I have a great heart?
I walk closer to everyone, and Oliver sends me a quick thankful look. "Lilly, I've got to know… do you like me?" I know I'm asking this question in front of the whole school, but at least this way everyone will know I didn't buy her again, and that it'll be real.
Lilly looks nervously at Jake, and everyone else before responding, "Yes! I-I love you Miley Stewart!"
A/N: There's one more chapter left to this story :D